BACKGROUND

Education

I received my B.A. degree from Northwestern University with
a major in English and minor in music. I started out my career
as a high school teacher in Alabama and, after two years of
teaching English and music, I moved to Washington and obtained
my Master of Music Degree in choral conducting at the University
of Washington. I continued to teach in the Seattle and Bellevue
Schools, returning to UW in 1985 to get a second master’s
degree in Educational Psychology with emphasis on school psychology
and counseling.

School Psychology

After obtaining my Ed. Psych. degree, I started working as
a school psychologist and counselor in the Bellevue School
District, serving as lead psychologist for the district, chairing
staff meetings and acting as consultant to the staff psychologists.
During my years as a school psychologist I worked with a broad
variety of school populations—preschool, elementary,
middle, high school, special education resource inclusion,
and self-contained special education programs (including the
developmentally disabled). I am credentialed as a Nationally
Certified School Psychologist (NCSP).

Learning Needs Assessments

Part of my duties at the school district involved conducting
assessments on children with learning disabilities, mental
retardation, motor and language impairments, ADHD, PDD, hyperlexia,
autism spectrum disorders, and other health impairments. I
assessed the learning needs of non-English speaking and ESL
students from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds and
conducted testing for gifted programs and early entry into
kindergarten.

School Counseling

As an elementary school counselor, I led counseling groups
that supported students dealing witth issues such as parents'
divorce, anger management, friendship skills, and interpersonal
problem solving. I also worked with individual students and
consulted with parents and teachers to address students' emotional
needs.

Doctoral Training and Teaching

In 1995 I returned to the University of Washington to begin
work on a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. While pursuing
my doctorate, I continued my school psychology and counseling
work in the Bellevue School District, taught a required five-credit
Intellectual Assessment class for master’s degree students
at UW, supervised practicum training for counseling students
in a counseling laboratory at UW, co-led parenting groups
under a UW research program, "The Incredible Years"
parenting program, and worked as a research assistant under
Dr. Virgnia Berninger at UW’s Learning Disabilities
Center.

Internships

I completed a pre-doctoral internship at Seattle’s
Children’s Hospital, where I worked in the PKU, Sickle
Cell, HIV and Congenital Hypothyroid clinics doing assessments
and consultation. In addition I performed general neuropsychological
assessments in the Psychiatry Department. I assisted with
neuropsychological assessments of children with seizure disorders
and brain tumors and observed brain surgeries in the Neurology
Department.

Ph.D. Emphasis

My Educational Psychology Ph.D. was awarded in 2004, with
emphasis in School Psychology, Child Development, Reading
Disability and Neuropsychology. The title of my dissertation
was "Effects of Prior Attention Training and a Composition
Curriculum with Attention Bridges for Students with Dyslexia
and/or Dysgraphia." My cumulative graduate school GPA
was over 3.9.

In 2006, I completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center
on Human Development and Disability (CHDD), a branch of the
UW Medical Center. My training included assessment of a wide
variety of developmental disorders such as learning disabilities,
mental retardation, autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder, behavior disorders, and related health conditions.
In additon, I participated in developmental assessments for
children who were high-risk infants and for children with
possible Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Current Professional Pursuits

Presently, in my private practice in Seattle and Bellevue,
I see chiildren, adolescents, and young adults for educational
testing, consulting, and counseling. I work with their parents
and schools to develop productive and supportive parenting
and educational strategies. In addition, I work as a member
of the multi-disciplinary diagnostic team on the Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome Diagnostic and Prevention Network at the University
of Washington Medical Center.

Musical Avocation

In my spare time I continue performing and conducting various
types of music. I sing vocals and play stand-up bass in a
professional
bluegrass band, The
Fossils, play bass in Thalia Symphony Orchestra, sing
in the Seattle Bach Choir, direct a church children’s
choir, and sing solos in choirs and at weddings.